Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Raspberry Ripple Cake for Stacey


Monday last week was my last Pilates class with our instructor, Stacey.  She is a trained exercise physiologist, and found a full time job in her field, hence her reason for leaving.  I am very happy for her and very sad for me - she is one of the best instructors we have had, and a very nice lady to boot. 

As you will know, I love baking cakes, so I couldn't let Stacey leave without baking her a cake.  I chose Edd Kimber's Raspberry Ripple Cake from The Boy Who Bakes.  That book has been around for a while, but I only acquired it late last year, and this was the first time that I had used it.  If you don't have the book, a few people have published the recipe online, including here.  

I made a few adjustments to the recipe.  Instead of three layers, I cut the cake batter recipe in half and made only two layers, which seemed quite substantial anyway.  I also swapped out the Italian meringue buttercream (I personally hate Italian meringue buttercream!) for my favourite Primrose Bakery buttercream, but incorporated the same raspberry and white chocolate flavours that Edd used.


When I tried swirling white chocolate buttercream through the raspberry buttercream, I didn't get the ripple effect suggested by Edd, and I just messed up the smoothness of my frosting job.  I also tried to pipe little swirls on top for decoration using supermarket bought frosting in a tube, and the swirls unfortunately looked as though they could use some Viagra:


Oh well.  I hope Stacey enjoyed eating this cake - it certainly smelled amazing.

8 comments:

Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake said...

I'm sure she enjoyed the came because it looks delicious! Love the comment about the icing haha.

~~louise~~ said...

Hi Gaye:)
Well, you've done it again, I saw this post in my sidebar and just had to pop over to see the loveliness. (A piece of cake would be nice too:)

I'm sorry for you that you are losing a favorite instructor. I know how disappointing that can be and yet, I'm sure you're happy Stacey found a job in her field. Just look at the cake you baked for her! It looks yummy and I imagine it tasted just as good. How sweet of you:)

Thanks so much for sharing, Gaye...I'll be checking out the recipe. Personally, I think you did GREAT! (withouth the Viagra, lol)

P.S. I'm not back to blogging yet but missing you "guys" terribly...

Johanna GGG said...

that sounds amazing too - I laughed at your comment on your swirls - hope you get another great pilates instructor

Kari said...

I am sure she did enjoy it! It looks and sounds delicious. I hope you can find a new instructor to fill her role.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

I love raspberry and white chocolate as a combo! I bet she loved it :D

Andrea_TheKitchenLioness said...

Gaye, what a thoughtful idea to be baking a cake for your pilates instructor that is leaving - and what a lovely looking cake this is!
Hope you will find another wonderful instructor...
Andrea

Kayte said...

That is a pretty cake...I love raspberry anything and that cake looks amazing. Too bad these posts do not come with a "select a slice" button! :-)

Unknown said...

This looks insanely good! Gotta buy some fresh raspberries tomorrow.